Gypsy Wedding (15 page)

When Johnnie returned for his lunch Kelly was back in her street clothes and chatting to Mary-Rose like they’d known each other for years. Vicky was making a few alterations to the fit of the skirt and Shania was feeding Kylie with a sandwich.

Johnnie grunted hello to the women and then sat at the table, flicking on the TV with the remote as he did so.

Mary-Rose put a plate of bread and cheese in front of him and then passed over a tray with jars of pickles and a big pat of butter on it.

‘Why do you want to be one of Vicky’s bridesmaids?’ said Johnnie with no preamble.

‘She’s my best mate,’ said Kelly, looking him square in the eye. ‘She and I have been through a lot together.’

‘Have you now. So what do you know about the sort of things the likes of Vicky has to cope with?’

‘I don’t. Doesn’t mean I can’t see it’s hard for her. Doesn’t mean I don’t hate others for making life miserable for her, does it?’

Johnnie wasn’t used to having a woman stand up to him quite like this. ‘I suppose,’ he conceded.

‘Sure, she and I are different, but only in some ways. Deep down we still want the same things.’

Johnnie raised his eyebrows. What on earth would Kelly want that his daughter might too? ‘Like what?’

‘A nice husband, a family, a home.’

‘Oh.’ Johnnie carried on eating in silence.

‘Talking of homes,’ said Vicky, desperate for a chance to talk to Kelly in private, ‘can I take Kelly to see the trailer Liam bought for us?’

‘You’d better ask Liam about that,’ said Mary-Rose. ‘If he says yes, then I won’t object.’ She looked at Johnnie, who nodded his agreement.

‘Come on,’ said Vicky, grabbing Kelly with one hand, their coats with another and dragging her out of the trailer and into the cold November air. She slammed the door behind them and giggled. ‘I thought we’d never get the chance to talk on our own. But you made a hit with Mammy. You were so cool spouting all that nonsense about your gran and those figures.’

‘But it’s not nonsense, it’s true.’

‘Never!’

‘Honest.’

‘But I thought it was only the likes of us that filled our homes with that stuff.’

‘Nah. And when Gran dies she’s promised them to me. I like them.’

‘You want them?’

‘Of course, they’re lovely.’

Vicky shook her head in disbelief. ‘You know, Kelly, I sometimes think you and me ought to swap places.’

‘Except I don’t want to get married for a few years yet.’

‘Sometimes I don’t think I do either.’ There, she’d said it.

Out loud.

They reached Liam’s workshop and Vicky pushed open the door. There was the love of her life busy turning a chair leg on a lathe. ‘Hi, Liam,’ she shouted over the high-pitched whirring.

He flicked the switch and the noise slowly wound down.

‘Hi, babe,’ he said with a smile.

‘I’ve brought someone to meet you. Mum and Dad said I could,’ she added. ‘This is Kelly, she’s going to be one of our bridesmaids.’ Vicky pulled Kelly right through the door to stand in the light where Liam could see her properly.

Liam wiped his hands on his trousers before holding one out to Vicky’s friend. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said.

‘Kelly’s a mate from college,’ said Vicky. ‘Mum loves her because she knows all about Royal Doulton.’

Despite her carefully planted signals that her parents almost approved of Kelly, or approved of her as much as they were capable of, a wary shuttered look formed on Liam’s face.

‘Is that so,’ was all he said.

‘I want to show Kelly the trailer you bought for us.’

‘Do you now.’

‘Please, Liam.’

‘I suppose,’ he said grudgingly.

‘Thanks, babe.’ Vicky dragged Kelly out of the workshop before he could change his mind.

She whirled Kelly through the park, ignoring the curious stares from her traveller friends and relations, till they got to the pitch where her new trailer was parked.

‘Shoes off,’ she ordered again as she opened the door and pulled herself up the high step.

Once again Kelly toed off her shoes and followed. ‘So this is going to be home sweet home.’

‘That’s the plan. What do you think?’

‘Lovely.’ Kelly wrinkled her nose. ‘Is it just me or does everywhere around here smell of polish?’

‘That’s because everywhere does. We like things just so.’

‘I can see. My mum’s house looks like a right shithole compared to these places.’

Vicky shrugged. ‘We’re very house proud. I know people call us all sorts of names but it’s not fair.’

‘People like Chloe.’

Vicky nodded.

‘So because of her, one nasty little cow, you’re going to give up college, is that it?’ said Kelly, settling herself on the bunk by the big window at the end.

‘But it won’t be just one nasty little cow once she’s told everyone just who I am, will it? Everyone will be against me. You know full well what people in the town think about us here on the park. That we’re dirty, thieving gypsies. Layabouts and good-for-nothings, benefit cheats and scroungers.’

‘So they’re wrong. I know that.’

‘You’re the only one,’ said Vicky, bleakly.

‘Don’t you think that all the people at college, all the kids who were at King John’s and who know you as Vicky O’Rourke, not Vicky the Gypsy, will stick by you?’

Vicky looked her friend in the eye. ‘No, no I don’t.’

‘I think you’re wrong.’

‘Says someone who’s never suffered from discrimination.’

‘You didn’t at King John’s,’ said Kelly reasonably.

‘Because I spent half my time there working out how to fit in. I was so careful never to let anyone know. I was terrified when you guessed; I thought if you did, everyone would.’

‘You mean you thought if someone as dim as me could do it, then so would all the bright kids.’

Vicky laughed. ‘No I didn’t! And you’re so not dim. But, you know, I thought I must’ve given something away.’

‘I think,’ said Kelly, ‘I guessed because you were so private. You never said anything ever about your home or your folks. I wondered if you were in care or something. Then the penny just sort of dropped. But by that time we were best mates so I never let anything I heard about travellers worry me.’

‘Didn’t work like that for Shania. She wasn’t so careful, that’s why she got bullied and left school a couple of years back. But, to be honest, that’s why I avoided her in school. I didn’t want everyone to realise she and I were sisters.’

‘Harsh.’

Vicky shrugged. ‘I know it sounds that way, but Shan understood – she didn’t really care and bunked off school all the time anyway. But she knew school was important to me, so we just didn’t hang out. It sounds worse than it actually was.’

‘So after all that, you’re going to throw everything away.’

‘I don’t want to.’

‘Then don’t.’

Vicky stared at her hands, twiddling her engagement ring around. ‘It’s just, is it worth it? Is it worth all the hassle and heartache just to make a point, a point that won’t matter in the long run because I’ll be married?’

‘So why does being married make a difference?’

‘Traveller wives don’t work.’

‘Oh, I remember now, you said. But couldn’t you bend the rules. College isn’t like working, is it. Not properly, not for cash.’

‘Not a chance. And why go for a qualification I can never really use.’

‘Shit, Vicky, that’s not fair.’

‘Fair or not it’s how it is.’

‘But dressmaking isn’t proper work, is it. Not if you just make stuff for yourself and your family. If you do that it’s just a hobby, like collecting Royal Doulton.’

‘That’s what I’ve been telling myself but who am I kidding?’

Kelly leaned forward and took Vicky’s hands. ‘Look, this is your life, and you have to have faith in your skill. That dress I tried on is a work of art, Vicky. You can’t let talent like that go to waste. And you’re not married yet so whatever life has to be like for you once you
are
, you have to make the most of everything beforehand. Come back to college, please. Show Chloe that you’re better than she is by not running scared, by not giving in to her bullying tactics. Because that’s what you’re doing.’

‘Maybe you’re right.’

‘I am. And I’ll stick by you and I bet Jordan will too. You’ll see.’

After Kelly had gone Vicky went back to Liam’s workshop.

‘Thanks for letting me show Kelly our trailer.’

‘It’s okay. Don’t know why she came here to nose about, though.’

‘She wasn’t
nosing
about. She came to try on her bridesmaid’s dress and to have a chat to me. She’s my friend, Liam.’

‘She’s a gorgio. She’ll never be a real friend to you, she can’t be. Gorgios are all the same; they hate us. And I don’t know why you want her at our wedding,’ he grumbled. ‘Because I know I don’t.’

‘What do you mean, Kelly isn’t a real friend? She
is
, she’s my best friend. She’s known who I am for years and has never told a soul. She lovely and kind and she’d never do anything to hurt me.’ Vicky stared at Liam. ‘Which is more than could be said for you right now.’

‘Vicky! How could you say that? I’d
never
do anything to hurt you.’

‘You just have. You don’t want Kelly at my wedding and it would mean the world to me that she’s there. I can’t believe you won’t let me have my very best friend there on my big day.’

Liam looked crestfallen. ‘But I’m only trying to protect you, babe. You know how much I love you. Kelly can be your bridesmaid if that’s what you really want. Forget what I said about her, I was bang out of order.’

‘You mean it?’

‘Of course, darling. Of course. You can have anything you want for your wedding day. Why not?’

Vicky threw her arms around Liam. ‘You’re wonderful and I love you,’ she said and gave him a big kiss on the cheek before she skipped off, happy.

Vicky arranged to meet Kelly outside the college the next day. Although Kelly had inspired her to man up and refuse to be intimidated by Chloe, Vicky’s nerve almost failed her at the last minute.

‘Hiya, Kel,’ she said when they met.

Kelly noticed that Vicky’s face was worryingly pale. ‘You all right?’

Vicky nodded tensely and flashed a tight little smile. ‘Yeah.’ She swallowed.

Kelly gave her arm a squeeze. ‘You’ll be fine. And I’ll be right beside you. I’ll wait outside the art block when you come out of lessons.

‘Shit, Kelly, you make me feel like I’m back in primary school.’

‘Chloe’ll only have a go at you if she gets you on your own.’

‘Not if she gets a gang of mates round her. You and me wouldn’t stand a chance.’

‘She’s not that popular.’

But Vicky wasn’t convinced.

As they walked into the foyer Vicky was sure all the students standing around were staring and whispering.

‘Don’t be daft,’ said Kelly. ‘It’s like this every day. People are just chatting. No one is giving you a second look, honest. You’re just paranoid.’

Am I?
Vicky wondered. She looked about her. Did some of the girls glance away as soon as they made eye contact? Were students giggling behind their hands? Or was Kelly right that they were just chatting and laughing like they always did?

Kelly gave her arm another little squeeze. ‘Stick with me, hon, there’s nothing to worry about.’

Yeah, Vicky decided, Kelly was right, there was nothing to worry about. She held her head high and squared her shoulders. She had as much right to be there as anyone and her background just didn’t matter. She’d be fine.

They were going through the double doors that led to the courtyard between the main building and the arts block when Jordan came banging out of the cloakroom and ran up to them.

‘Hi, girls,’ he said. ‘Are you OK?’

Instantly Vicky was aware of three feelings: firstly was fear that Chloe would spot them. Instinctively Vicky looked around for her. Much as she didn’t care whether she upset the bitch or not, she didn’t want to court trouble. And chatting to Jordan was doing exactly that. Secondly she felt her insides flip and flutter. What was it about Jordan that did this to her? It was so wrong. It was Liam she loved, it was Liam she was marrying and her body had no reason to behave so treacherously. Which explained her third feeling: one of huge guilt.

‘Okay, thanks. Can’t talk, late for lessons,’ she replied as she hurried on, leaving Jordan looking bemused and a little irritated. He wasn’t the sort of lad who got ignored by girls he took an interest in.

‘Whoa,’ said Kelly as they went back out into the fresh air. ‘Jordan’s done nothing wrong.’

‘Chloe accused me of trying to steal him off her
in front of my family
. Have you any idea how bad that made me look to them?’